Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein (15) pulls down a rebound next to Georgia's Marcus Thornton during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Lexington, Ky.

ST. LOUIS — The men, one in a yellow T-shirt, the other in a blue sweater, stood rambling about basketball over low-ball glasses filled with brown liquor and melting ice cubes.

With increasingly slurred words, the men tossed superlatives at Wichita State and Kentucky, calling the bartender over for another round as Friday night turned into Saturday morning in a small hotel bar a few blocks from Scottrade Center.

The Kentucky Wildcat fan gushed that the Shockers were so impressive in their dismantling of Cal Poly.

But, wow, countered the Wichita State fan, Julius Randle and those freshmen were beastly during Kentucky’s win against Kansas State.

The conversation played on as fresh drinks replaced the glasses of melted ice — a few barbs were even sent Kansas’ way — until the newfound friends finally got around to the idea that, come Sunday, they will be taking different sides when the Shockers and Kentucky Wildcats square off in a 1:45 p.m. clash televised nationally by CBS.

“So,” the Shockers fan said, “you know we’re going to win, right?”

Before the season, who saw this scene playing out?

In Lexington, Ky., the Nation of Big and Blue was hyping its recruiting class as the best ever and printing “40-0” clothing that now is unwearable.

Instead, Kentucky is the No. 8 seed talking about knocking off No. 1-seeded Wichita State, which is 35-0 and has a chance to reach that 40-0 record. Kansas native Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky’s 7-foot sophomore, said he hoped his Wildcats would “shock the world.”

So here folks are, in bars sharing pints over the same conversation as they eagerly await Sunday afternoon’s matchup. All across the country, the game is reaching absurd levels of hype.

Even Kansas’ Bill Self might take a peek at the showdown, but only should No. 2 Kansas get the better of No. 10 Stanford in Sunday’s 11:15 a.m. opener.

“You have Wichita State, who has had the year. Nobody can deny that,” Self said. “They had as good a year as college basketball has seen in recent memory. And then you have one of the truest bluebloods that has the reputation and all those sorts of things in the young talent.

“And it should be a fun game. I think it will be a fun game to watch. And if I do watch any of it, I’ll watch it strictly as a neutral observer and enjoy every moment — because it could be very cool.”